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Measures To Support Canada’s Economic Growth And Address The Labour Market Shortage.
The Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Mr. Sean Fraser, announced today new measures to address the labour shortage Canada has been facing since the beginning of the travel restrictions in 2020 and the delay of the overseas processing times in 2021.
The Minister declared[1], “With the economy growing faster than employers can hire new workers, Canada needs to look at every option so that we have the skills and labour needed to fuel our growth”.
Aiming to manage the high inventory, IRCC paused the invitations to apply under the federal skilled streams Canadian Experience Class (CEC), Federal Skilled Worker (FSW), and Federal Skilled Trades (FST), causing the federal skilled inventory to decrease from 111,900 in September of 2021 to 48,000 people in March of 2022.
The good news is the invitations to apply under these streams through Express Entry will finally resume in “early July” and IRCC intends to process the majority of the new applications within the 6-month service standard.
See below the promising TEMPORARY POLICIES that were announced today to enter in force this summer and who will benefit from them:
- INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
Starting in summer 2022, former students who have a Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) that expires between January and December 2022 will be able to extend their open work permit for up to eighteen (18) months.
This policy will benefit about 95,000 post-graduation work permit holders who will have their permits expired within this period.
Canada’s goal with this policy change is to retain talented and skilled International Students that are already integrated into the Canadian labour market to address the labour shortage across the country.
It is essential to mention that this additional extended period of an Open Work Permit will also increase the chances of the interested, talented former students to transition to permanent residence successfully.
Compared with the same period of 2021, in the first quarter of 2022, IRCC has doubled the number of Permanent Resident application decisions welcoming more than 113.000 new permanent residents into Canada.
- FOREIGN NATIONALS IN CANADA AS VISITORS
Since August 2020, foreign nationals with visitor status were authorized to apply for an “employer-specific” work permit from inside Canada, and this temporary policy is now extended to February 28, 2023.
- EXTENDED PERIOD OF WORK PERMIT FOR PERMANENT RESIDENCE APPLICANTS UNDER THE TR TO PR PATHWAY.
Applicants who are waiting for a decision on their TR to PR (Permanent Residence) application and applying for an open work permit will now be able to extend their work permit validity until December 2024, ensuring that applicants have a valid work permit until the end of their Permanent Residence process. Also applicants will not need to remain in Canada during the process of their applications.
Family members that are still outside Canada but were included in the principal applicant’s Permanent Residence application will be eligible to apply for an open Work Permit to support family reunification.
Ultimately, Canada intends to restore standard Express Entry processing time to retain talented workers and bolster economic growth.
While more details will clarify how these policy changes will be implemented, we can expect a high volume of new applications.
Therefore, persons interested in staying in or coming to Canada as temporary or permanent residents should be prepared and ensure their eligibility to apply under one of the several programs and meet the established requirements.
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